Being required to wear neckties if you are male.

[JohnH]

Why so negative about the tie?

Try living in Dallas, TX, USA where the highs can be 39 deg C (103 deg F) and the low can be 28 deg C(82 deg F). This is a damp kind of heat, not the dry kind you have in the desert. The coat and tie apparel is completely impractical in that kind of climate, and very few men wear those clothes in this area.

John

[Zorba]

Pretty much - although I'll wear "relatively" high (won't use the word "tight") necklaces for performances. Its only 15 minutes or less, and I can loosen or take off afterwards - plus air still circulates regardless.

[Zorba]

Why so negative about the tie?

Try living in Dallas, TX, USA where the highs can be 39 deg C (103 deg F) and the low can be 28 deg C(82 deg F). This is a damp kind of heat, not the dry kind you have in the desert. The coat and tie apparel is completely impractical in that kind of climate, and very few men wear those clothes in this area.

John

Its completely impractical just about everywhere in the world, except France/England where it got its start, and parts further northward. And then, only in winter.

What gets me is a situation like this:

Super stiff, formal affair. The women, who are "allowed" to wear anything they want, are generally in off the shoulder ball gowns or similar. The men are all trussed up in thick woolen clothing that can't breathe - and add the tight color and tie. Probably a tux, which is the silliest looking piece of clothing ever invented - I've never worn one and never will.

Anyway, IN GENERAL, women tend to run cold, and men tend to run hot. The heat is cranked up so the cold women, wearing thin clothes, won't freeze - and the hot running men in hot clothing slowly bake. I maintain that not only is this ludicrous, its downright unethical/immoral to put this "requirement" on men.

Its just WRONG.

[Caultron]

Why so negative about the tie?

I've never been able to figure that out either. Like, if it bothers you, buy shirts with a larger neck size.

On the other hand, I've never figured out what's so great about them. For the most part they apparently signify pecking order.

[crfriend]

For the most part [neckties] apparently signify pecking order.

Indeed, which is why I made sure to wear one to my sacking a few weeks ago in the uber-casual workplace I used to inhabit. The boss(es) (who were casually dressed) squirmed visibly in front of the HR type who I had brought in to keep the mental abuse/bullying to a minimum. (It was trousers that day, just to make a statement.)

Actually, I was the only one in the room who could even have been considered to be in "work" attire. The "Director"-level one looked like he was going to play golf and his underling may as well have been on his way to the gym. The woman from HR was in normal casual attire. On the other hand they were dealing with somebody visibly showing all the cards of professional behavior, prowess, and capability -- shirt, smart shoes, (the uniform) trousers, necktie, and with hair restrained in a simple tail. It was sheer fraud, of course, as they held precisely all the power, and I none, and I don't believe in the tie as a "badge of position"; but it was fun seeing the discomfort.

My words to the HR type the next day summed it all up, "Let's get this farce over with." (For that one, I wore a skirt; as a counterpoint to the day before the above-mentioned encounter where I wore all black (save for a peek of red petticoat), that time I wore hot-white from stem to stern save for my shoes. Stories exist from that day.

So, yes, ties have their place -- they're great for screwing with little-peoples' heads.

[skirtyscot]

New job starts on Monday. Yay!

Having been to an internal meeting already, where it was commented on that I was wearing a tie, I am optimistic that the dress code is just a wee bit relaxed. Maybe ties are only de rigeur if you're going to see a client. Then again, some clients aren't bothered about ties, so maybe not even then.

Then again, the others at the meeting knew that I was only working from home, so not generally wearing a tie, and maybe they were remarking on how unusual it must have been for me to put one on.

I live in hope, I don't like ties.

[rick401r]

I was working as a sales rep and the dress code required a tie. On Christmas Eve we had to work a half day. We were told that the dress code would not be enforced. Even so, I wore a tie. It was festive with Santa and reindeer. Unfortunately I also wore an earring in one ear. I had been told it was against dress code so I never wore it during working hours. I was fired for it. I could have sued for that but I couldn't afford the lawyer's fee. So after 10 years on the job I was out of work.
I did collect unemployment for a year so I took a one year vacation. Then found a better job where I could wear whatever I wanted (within reason). I even wore a kilt once in a while.

[Zorba]

Unfortunately I also wore an earring in one ear. I had been told it was against dress code so I never wore it during working hours. I was fired for it.

More sheer unethical behavior.

[Caultron]

...We were told that the dress code would not be enforced...Unfortunately I also wore an earring in one ear...I was fired for it.

Some people have absolutely no sense of humor.

[Zorba]

Some people have absolutely no sense of humor.

I actually first read this as "no sense of HONOR"...

I like that better...

[Caultron]

Some people have absolutely no sense of humor.

I actually first read this as "no sense of HONOR"...

I like that better...

It's a sarcastic expression of mine, usually said with a Chech and Chong accent.

But that too.

[Grok]

http://www.ofakind.com/editions/37-BOLO-BOW-TIE I came across this combination of a bow tie and a bolo tie.

[jamie001]

I refuse to wear neckties and don't own any. I will wear a suit, but no tie. My reason is that ties are sexist, discriminatory, and are forced upon males. Why can a woman be professionally dressed in a suit without a tie, but a man wearing a suit must wear a tie to be professionally dresses? Therein lies the problem!

If ties were not forced upon males, my view of ties would probably be different and I might even enjoy wearing one occasionally. Since ties are forced upon males, my disdain for them will continue.

Jamie

[Milfmog]

I refuse to wear neckties and don't own any. I will wear a suit, but no tie. My reason is that ties are sexist, discriminatory, and are forced upon males. Why can a woman be professionally dressed in a suit without a tie, but a man wearing a suit must wear a tie to be professionally dresses? Therein lies the problem!

If ties were not forced upon males, my view of ties would probably be different and I might even enjoy wearing one occasionally. Since ties are forced upon males, my disdain for them will continue.

I half understand this. I too hate compulsion and probably a large part of the reason I'm happy to wear a tie for work is because it is by choice; most of my colleagues do not wear ties.

However; your argument fails if you wear trousers for work. Take your sentence "Why can a woman be professionally dressed in a suit without a tie, but a man wearing a suit must wear a tie to be professionally dressed?" and rewrite it as "Why can a woman be professionally dressed in a suit with a skirt or with trousers, but a man wearing a suit must wear trousers to be professionally dressed?" Do you refuse to wear trousers for work?

Just wondering...


Ian.

[crfriend]

Interestingly, and just because of this thread, I decided to wear a tie to work today -- a bright blue pop of colour compared to my white shirt, black waistcoat, cream bespoke skirt, and black tights (with a subtle pattern) and black shoes. The tie looks pretty good when it can be seen under my beard.

Nobody where I works wears a necktie unless they're dealing with Corporate -- and since Corporate is in Texas, that's fairly rare, and almost never here.